The GDPR countdown is on – are you prepared?

21st February 2018ImagoAdmin

GDPR is right around the corner and yet, data from the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) GDPR and you report demonstrated that despite awareness of GDPR was growing, 42% of responders remained unsure that their business was prepared for the new challenges. GDPR will challenge businesses to adapt their practices to meet compliance standards, so what does GDPR involve?

As the internet has grown and technology has developed, more of our personal details have been uploaded online. This continues to pose an existential crises about the nature of consent in terms of giving away data, while also placing the microscope on how corporations keep our details secure. For context, 2017 saw the largest data breach in history as Equifax confirmed that consumer data including full names, social security numbers, birth dates, addresses, and driving licenses had been compromised. Other recent examples of data breaches include Deloitte, a London Bridge Plastic Surgery Clinic, Cash Converters, and Uber. These sorts of developments, along with important issues and ethical dilemmas around the right to be forgotten, and the systematic exportation of personal data, have prompted EU regulators to introduce GDPR.

However, with the deadline approaching many companies are still struggling to meet compliance standards, so complaints over the costs involved and calls for amendments and changes to the legislation have been made. SME’s in particular have been caught out by the new legislation, as they are not used to worrying about privacy, security or consent. But, what these struggles and pushback have highlighted is that the new legislation is an important step towards ensuring best practice, and thereby safeguarding the future of tech companies who have built their empires on the backs of consumer data.

In fact, making data protection a core brand value will hopefully become the norm across the industry, and while GDPR will initially prove a hindrance to corporations marketing efforts, in the long term the changes will improve their ability to meet their customers’ needs.

Make sure you are confident in your GDPR plans by finding out more at IP EXPO Manchester 2018.

For further information and to register for free for IP EXPO Manchester 2018, please visit: www.ipexpomanchester.com Get involved on Twitter using the #IPEXPOManchester hashtag.